Gov't moves to reactivate sugar production

The governments of Ghana and Mauritius on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of a joint business venture to set up a sugarcane plantation and sugar refinery mill in Ghana.

The MOU was signed by Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry on behalf of the Ghana government and Mr. J. Patrick Maurel, Managing Director of Nine Stars Impex Company Limited (NSICL) signed on behalf of the government of Mauritius.

It set the tone for feasibility studies to be undertaken by the two Mauritius firms, NSICL and Fuchsia Limited that would lead to the implementation of establishing a sugarcane plantation and a sugar mill in the country.

The MOU committed the Ministries of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) on one hand and the two Mauritius firms on the other, to a joint venture sugar production arrangement.

Dr. Apraku said the government has chosen to own a share in the project to make the foreign investor feel more comfortable investing in the country, adding that the local private sector was however, invited to be part of the project.

He said government and private sector of Mauritius have explored several investment and business opportunities in the country and were poised to make heavy investments in the country over the next few years.

"Following a field trip with the consortium from Mauritius led by Mrs. Michelline Feillafe, Honorary Consul of Ghana in Mauritius, processes have begun, commitments have been made and goals have been set for businesses to be established in Ghana," he said.

Dr. Apraku said the investors have been taken round to see the Asutsuare and Komenda Sugar factories and those would form the basis of their study and inform the direction of their investment.

He said private investors from Mauritius were on their way to Ghana to invest in various sectors such as the hotel, furniture, textile and other industries. Mr. Maurel said by April next year a formal agreement between the two governments would be signed for the sugar production project to begin sometime next year.

He said four out of 22 sugar companies in Mauritius have been merged into one company to undertake the sugar production project in Ghana, adding that the process promises to be more viable in Ghana than in Mauritius.

"Mauritius exports over 600,000 tonnes of sugar every year," he said. "We hope to make bear our expertise in the sugar industry to make Ghana a major sugar exporter." Mrs. Feillafe assured Ghanaians that she was in Mauritius to uphold the course of Ghana, adding that she would ensure that Ghana benefited from the project.